Are cloned images just pointers

M

mrfearless47

Member
Awhile back I cloned my Windows VM to create a virtual sandbox. Yesterday, I created a brand new VM, four times the size of my original VM and clone, installed Windows XP and other software. When I was satisified that everything in the new VM was working properly, that all my data had been moved over properly, I deleted my clone "sandbox", leaving (I thought) the original VM in place should I ever need to go back and recover it. Today, just for grins and giggles, I attempted to open the original (too-small) VM and got a warning/error from Parallels telling me that it can't find the VM. Sure enough, I went into the directory where I store my VMs and there was but one VM, the new super large version. I don't regard this as a crisis since I can pull the old VM off a backup HD in less than 2 minutes. But my question is:

When cloning a VM, does Parallels actually create a duplicate of the original, or is there simply a pointer to the original put in so that deleting the clone kills the original and deletes the pointer?

If this is the case, Parallels REALLY ought to provide a warning when attempting to delete a cloned image.
 
Cloning a VM copies all of the VM files, including the virtual disks, creating a separate copy. So no, deleting a VM does not delete the original. I've deleted a cloned VM myself and I still have the original VM.
 
So, what explanation would you have for the primary image being listed in the VM catalog but being physically gone, especially following the deletion of the clone.
 
you made a mistake

by not using the utility ???
My clone is updated (delete then replace) every saturday and on an external firewire disk

It pays to chose where to save it
as in any back up best on a different HD

Hugh W
 
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